NOT using a clutch when shifting gears on a manual trans?

What does the ole' Ford have for a tranny? I don't know what they used in their daycabs but I drove a straight truck 9000 of the same era and it had a a 5+2 and that is shifted single clutching just like a car.

 

During a road test for my company we wanted you to know how to shift all different ways. The most important is to know how to match your road speed with the gear you need to be in. I would ask the driver to show me how to double clutch then I would ask if he or she can skip gears and select the proper gear to go into. Floating does not make a truck driver. It's just a technique learn to save work. Especially if you had twin sticks.

I don't think a new driver should float until they have enough experience to not damage the transmission. I have seen where the gear has not gone into the hole all the way and when power was applied it banged out of gear. A very hard bang that is not good on the gears and I only saw this if you floated.

I drove all kinds of different trucks and some I would float and some I would double clutch. When I drove tankers the trucks were always newer trucks and I just used the clutch because it was easier. The gear shift was stiff plus at a time we had KW K100's and they were cable shift and some of them were hard. I drove in the city all day long and would shift a lot more than OTR drivers. But when you learn how to skip gears it makes it a lot easier. On a 10 speed I'd go from 10th to 7th to low range. Coming up to a signal light that was red I would just let the truck roll in high gear and if the light changed I would select the gear for that speed or if the engine got down too low I would skip a couple of gears and continue to roll. It's a lot more relaxing knowing what gear to be in than to downshift every gear. Besides that if you had to downshift every gear we would not hire you.

 

I double clutch, like we were taught at school, and I'm already being encouraged to "slip shift". I personally have no problem double clutching. It's just a natural process for me now.

In fact, we were told at school to don't even THINK about it. And they used a previous student as an example saying he did it and ruined a tranny. Whether that was true I don't know.

Once upon a time when I first got behind the wheel, I drove with someone from Missouri to Washington and was taught right off the bat to NOT clutch except when completing a stop or starting off. That's how I learned, that's how I shifted.

Dunno how I ever did it then...

But as I said, where I'm at now, my Trainer is encouraging me to learn to shift w/out using the clutch. We'll see

 

ok here is what i know ...if the man has u for training or testing use the double clutch enough said ...now if u haul a tank like i do , u dont ever double clutch unless u want beat to death by the surge ...just saying

 

dang i thought the clutch was for starting and stopping only...i even forget its there at times...

 

Good Post GasHauler... what your referring to for the Newbies is Progressive shifting... and yeah ive seen em pop outta gear and make a sound like the engine fell out...lol.. when i was a Certified Trainer i use to teach the students to double clutch until they felt comfortable floating.....Heck my sister after 7 years still cant float on her 18 speed because she forgets what gear shes in for some reason..lol...Sad to say but i taught her and i have noooo idea why she has a case of CRS....

 

but arent gas tankers baffled lol ... ?

 

Yes, gas and chemical tanks are baffled but that only slows the surge, not stop it. Also, alot of fuel tanks are compartmentalized, so its like 4 or 5 compartments that are seperate but not baffled. Not being a tank driver myself ( have a lot of buds that are) I dont want to give you wrong info so I'm sure theres drivers that can explain better than me. I haul a lot of "totes" that are like 250 gallon and even that small amout of liquid causes a good bit of surge.
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we got 4 compartment trailers to and whats funny is we have less of those than shot gun tanks and guess what gets flipped more often ? 4 compartment trailers get rolled more often because the surge is alot less but you still have the wall crawl going on and the driver doesnt feel it like i na shot gun it will literally push the trailer to that side and u will feel it wanting to lean u dont get that with the compartment trailers either ...but yea tanks are a lil more fun to haul for sure ...

 

Compartment and baffles have nothing to do with shifting. You want to be as smooth as you can and taking your time and relaxed driving is better than hitting every gear. It gets back to matching your road speed to the correct gear. I don't rev the engine up to 1500 because to me you're selecting the wrong gear if you have to. A little tap maybe bringing the engine up from idle 800 rpms and have the gear fall in. Then you start at the low end of the power band and accelerate smoothly.

BUT THATS ME AND THE TRUCK I DROVE. It could be very different for the truck you're in. That's why I suggest you double clutch until you know the truck.